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Among The Best Core Exercises For Men & Women To Tone Their Midsection Is “The Plank Exercise”

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Core workouts and even full-on core exercises for men which focus purely on the core muscles are getting more and more emphasis in the fitness industry, and for a good reason. Not only will these help you in sculpting a great midsection, but they actually provide practical functionality & benefits as well. There are a lot of different muscles that make up your core. To have a great looking midsection, you must have a fully developed core.

When you think of workouts that will target your core, you generally think of focusing on the abdominal and back muscles. However, the “best” exercises will target the Latissimus dorsi, Serratus anterior, External obliques, Internal obliques, Rectus abdominis, Transversus abdominis. All of your core muscles work together to support your frame and spine. The core muscles serve as a protection for you so you should not neglect any of them by focusing on old-school crunches.

The Best Core Exercises For Men & Women

The best core exercises for men and women generally don’t include training with weights — you want dense and defined core muscles, not big or bulgy.

Number one on the list and for a good reason is the plank. I have to admit, I was a little behind the curve when it came to doing these. I used to stick to more traditional core exercises like crunches and leg lifts, but once I started doing these on a regular basis, I haven’t stopped. Not only do I like to do standard planks, but I also add in side planks, and in my opinion, this is one of the best core exercises for men and women, if not the best.

The Plank Exercise Routines I Love

I love to do plank exercises at the end of my workouts. Depending on how hard of a workout I just did, I usually do one of two different plank exercise routines. Doing planks works so well because it trains your core muscles to stay partially contracted – giving you a sturdy base as well as great definition — provided your body fat is low enough to see your core muscles.

The Plank Exercise Routine (version one)

I do two minutes of a standard plank exercise, followed by a one minute side plank on each side. This may not sound like much, but give it a try, it’s a workout all in it’s own.

At about minute number one, you may experience some shaking – this is good, this is very good.

Here’s The Plank Exercise Routine Revved Up

So you’re ready to take it to the next level? Here is an advanced, and in my opinion one of the best core exercises for men & women, that I gleaned from Fitnessblackbook.com. This one really gets you.

Two minutes doing a right side plank

Two minutes doing a left side plank

Rest 30 seconds

Two minutes doing a regular plank

Rest 30-60 seconds

Two minutes doing an exercise ball plank

This is not easy and you honestly may not be able to complete all of these core exercises as outlined, but if you keep working on it you will be doing this in no time. Really, this is one of the best core exercises to really develop your midsection. A nice way to ease into this workout is by cutting all of the time in half – this will still be a challenging workout.

Remember though, when it comes to having great definition throughout your core muscles, it’s all about diet.

Whether you use the Eat Stop Eat like I do or another diet, you need to eat smart & strategically in order to get great definition in your abs. Yes, doing these core exercises, you will create great abs, but if you can’t see them then what’s the point, right?

More Exercises & Workouts For Your Core

For a post on how to do oblique exercises and how not to do them checkout my article on the best oblique exercises. Also, I’ve got some awesome lower ab exercises you can checkout for the hard to reach core muscles.

I love that you embrace the plank. I started running and my sister encouraged me to really work on strengthing my core for proper running form. I plank constantly and do minimal other ab exercises. Was just told last night that I have… a six pack?????? Planks are to thank. As a side note, I just lost about 80 lbs so the possibility of seeing this kind of midsection seemed impossible. Thanks for all the other great tips. I will be looking back for more.(maybe some info for fitness competition???)